How to set up your Android Wear watch

Before you can really start doing anything with your Android Wear watch, you have to get the software sorted and set up. Luckily, that's not very difficult at all. You'll need the companion application and the new version of Google Play Services, which should install itself automatically once you've begun.

The good news is that none of this is hard, and it's basically an app just like any other app. Anyone who tried out a Galaxy Gear from Samsung last year is familiar how this goes. For everyone else, read on!

To begin, you'll need to download the Android Wear companion application for your phone. You'll find it right here once it's available, and it installs just like any other app.

During the installation process, you'll need to give permission for the app to do things like recognize your contacts or track your position. Think if the settings Google Now needs to work — these are similar for the same reasons.

Once you have the app installed, fire it up and make sure Bluetooth is up and running on both devices. You should see your Android Wear device listed as an available device. You might see other devices in this list, depending on what else is around you. Choose the right device, and you're automatically connected to your smartphone through the device's Bluetooth connection.

You're almost finished! After you've chosen a device, you'll learn about where you can enable notifications for your Android Wear watch. A smartwatch isn't very smart without any notifications. After that, you're directed to look at your watch and poke around to see the various settings and functions.

The last thing to do is set a few basic settings. Want to keep the screen on at all times? There's a setting for that. You can also choose to show calendar events as notifications, hide cards while the screen is dim, set which device — your watch or your phone — will receive notifications or even set up the software debugger if you need to. Of course, the overflow menu also has a handy tutorial as well as a way to connect more or different Android Wear device.